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Is there arsenic in your baby's formulas?

The web recently has been full of news stories that arsenic may be found in some baby formulas. A US study has claimed brown rice syrup, used to sweeten some foods, including a couple of Amercian brands of formula, can contain arsenic.

Do Australian parents need to worry?

No, says a spokesperson from Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ).

The FSANZ recently released the results of its Australian Total Diet Study, which surveyed chemical levels in commonly eaten foods throughout the nation, including infant formula.

“This study found no safety concerns for arsenic levels in food for any age group, including infants,” the spokesperson said.

“So we are happy to say that there are no safety concerns in Australia for arsenic levels in infant formula.”

Arsenic is everywhere

Arsenic is a chemical element found in water, air, food and soil as a naturally occurring substance or due to contamination from human activity.

“It (arsenic) has a scary reputation because most people believe it’s deadly even in tiny amounts, but the reality is the amounts we are naturally exposed to in our diet are no cause for concern.” a FSANZ fact sheet says.

“Arsenic appears in organic and inorganic forms. Because both appear naturally in soil and ground water, small amounts may be unavoidably found in some food and drinks.”

But the US study found that two out the 17 infant formulas tested listed brown rice syrup as a main ingredient, and one had quite high levels of arsenic concentration.

Check the label

One of the authors of the study was quoted in Time magazine advising parents who are concerned about their child’s arsenic exposure not to feed them formula in which brown rice syrup was listed as a main ingredient.

The study did point out, however, that the infant formulas that used brown rice syrup had a very low market share in the US.

It seems that brown rice syrup is more likely to be used in organic or gluten-free products as a replacement for the high-fructose and frowned-upon corn syrup sweetener.

The study also found higher concentrations of arsenic in some cereal bars that listed one of four rice products as a main ingredient.